Much at Stake in Cancun
Posted on 01. Dec, 2010 by joannadafoe in Canada
These posts are often focused on the daily UN grist, but while moving from the many conference locations (“one venue, two locations”) throughout the day I found myself thinking about Cancun as a transitional moment. Indeed, this Conference of the Parties moment may be much more significant than negotiators and media tone it down to be. The Cancun meetings can make significant decisions on climate governance and also restore faith in global action.
A big component to success in Cancun relies on finance and the establishment of a Climate Fund. As a lynchpin issue for cooperation at the UNFCCC, any established finance body must be considered fair and transparent by developing countries. A November report by the UN Secretary-General’s advisory group on climate change urged for the inclusion of major multilateral development banks, like the World Bank, into the negotiating process. For many developing countries and environmental groups, this outcome embodies the worst turn the UN can take. As an institution known to lack transparent and democratic standards, a World Bank presence in the climate meetings will undermine trust and dismantle cooperation. A UN monitored Climate Fund can be agreed upon in Cancun to ensure inclusive governance.
The outcome on finance is especially significant because it will shape the trust-dynamic between polluting industrialized states and those countries that seek development in a carbon constrained world (for more on this dynamic check out the work put out by the folks at Eco-Equity). The current trust-dynamic, to be frank, is on the rocks at the UNFCCC. Without a strong surge of financial support from industrialized countries that have done the most to contribute to climate change, the negotiating fault lines between rich and poor nations will widen.
The extent to which countries build trust and goodwill during the Cancun meetings will determine the success of a future climate deal. Fred Heutte of Sierra Club US describes how the decisions made these next days will have great consequence for the UN process. “Though it is hard to see amidst all the complicated and slow-moving parts of the UNFCCC negotiations, we are actually in a rather remarkable moment.” Many decisions will be made on issues of forestry, finance, technology, and adaption before next week. According to Heutte, it is essential that the institutions established to manage these issues are not only effective, but transparent and fair. “Once the basic elements of new institutions are “baked in,” he says, “it will be very hard to change them structurally. The decisions made in Cancun will have effects for decades.”
While negotiators are working toward tangible and technical decisions in Cancun, they are also working to build a sense of basic trust and equity. An equitable climate framework is as much a pragmatic necessity as it is a moral one to achieve a post-2012 climate deal.
Negotiator Tracker - Joanna Dafoe
Joanna is an advocate for climate leadership on both the UN and community level. She attended the Montreal, Bali, and Copenhagen climate meetings with the Canadian Youth Delegation. Outside the UNFCCC, Joanna has been active in the UN Commission on Sustainable Development where she attended the 16th and 17th sessions as a youth representative. Currently living in Sweden on exchange, she calls Edmonton and Toronto her home. read more»
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